Monday, January 4, 2010

Another Introduction!


(me with my friend Taishi Asano from JASC)
Hello !

My name is Mariama Holman and I am another one of the American Executive Committee members for the 62nd JASC. I am the publications director of JASC. Right now I am a sophomore at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. I am leading the San Francisco Site with my super-fabulous partner, Ikuno Naka. Also, I am the American leader for the Social Entrepreneurship Roundtable, which I co-lead with the "Incredible" Shuta Takada.
I was born in Chicago, Illinois, but I have spent a larger portion of my life in Georgia, therefore, I officially consider myself a southerner. However, I definitely enjoy visiting my family in New York and Chicago during the summer and reacquainting myself with my birth city. Right now, my home is in Atlanta, Georgia, and I am loving it. It has the most INCREDIBLE weather, and I feel sorry for the other AEC’s that are situated in the rust-belt and cannot enjoy a lovely 60 degrees spring...

My interests outside of school and career are dominated by the arts, especially painting and drawing. During my high school years I often drew caricatures or painted faces and bodies at fairs, festivals, and charity events. I especially liked to travel to nursing homes or hospitals and create portraits while being entertained with lively conversation.
Besides the visual arts, I REALLY enjoy music and poetry. I am the host of a Jazz show on my school’s student radio station. You can check out my show times for the upcoming semester at radio.wfu.edu. Additionally, I love to attend spoken word poetry slams at my school and in Atlanta. I have even read a poem or two of my own a few times…

ANY WHO,

I applied to JASC because I am just a naturally inquisitive person… Ha ha ha… Honestly, I thought JASC was a great opportunity for me to travel abroad and meet people from a different background from my own. Since I spent a huge chunk of my life in a small, isolated area of the South- I didn’t often engage in a diverse community. My “international experiences” were pretty limited before JASC. Besides a bathroom break at a gas station on the Canadian border when I was 6, I really hadn’t seen the outside world much…

After taking an incredible class on East Asian History and a Social Problems course in college, I realized that I had a strong interest in the study of globalization and its impacts on economics and society. During my Asian History course I was especially interested in the 1960’s of Japan and the expansion of the economy. This really piqued my interest because my folks raised me on stories about “back in the day,” which often times consisted of their first encounters with Japanese products and culture. I remember hearing about the first Japanese product on the American market- tiny Japanese transistor radios given to all good little boys and girls on Christmas. Or, tales of Speed Racer, Astro Boy, and other early forms of Japanese cartooning.
Back then, I thought it was incredible that Japan became an international economic leader in technological and pop-culture trends that hugely impact daily American life. Experiencing Japanese culture and society first-handedly and making friends from across the world further cemented my interests.

Today, I am still astounded at the great experiences I have had and friends that I have made through JASC. JASC was a great opportunity for me, and I don’t think I have learned half as much in any other month of my teenage life. If you all are looking for an adventure where you learn about yourself as well as the international community, JASC is definitely the place for you to be this summer!

Happy New Year
Peace and Deuces...
Mariama

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